On the one hand, you have Apple, which quietly rolled out iOS 4.3 with the precision of a Swiss watch. The update came a day earlier than expected, in fact.For a watch, that's pretty crappy precision;)

Google could do that as well, if it had control over the handsets as well as the operating system. You can't have it both ways, people that get Android phones (like me) want something that's more open typically than what Apple will allow. The downside is that Google has little control over what "enhancements" the carriers and handset manufacturers put in place. And Google also doesn't control how locked down those handsets are either.

The forums are full of frustrated users who will not be receiving a vendor supplied update to the latest versions. Not a big deal for a typical/. user, but a bit daunting to a non-techie. The vendors have no incentive to upgrade a phone once they lock someone into a contract. It is actually desirable that they don't upgrade a device to enable new features since it creates a horse and carrot effect.

The numbers are closer to 42% below version 2.2 according to Google, rather than 60% but still nothing to be h

The Nexus one barely got 1 years of updates then OFFICIAL compatibility was dropped but you could get updates by rooting. Apple has been providing updates for 3 years for each of the iPhones before they become End of life, then users are left with Jailbreaking to get more features.

1. Gingerbread just rolled out to Nexus Ones in the last couple of weeks.2. That's the second major update the Nexus One has received in a little over a year since it was released. That's already as many as any iPhone has ever rec

Which essentially is updates "if the carriers & manufactures feel like it (but secretly they don't because they don't want to devalue their newer offerings)". Barring that, the end user either follows some obscure steps to upgrade their phone from some Android hacking website, or is told to go pound sand. Not very good options for common non-techie end users like my aunt.

Historically, most Apple devices you buy new today is good for about 2 years of firmware updates.

If your aunt is a "common non-techie end user".. then she would hardly be affected at all. She would continue to used her phone oblivious as to what she was missing.. It]s only the enthusiasts, who can't stand their buddies having a newer release than them that get so bent out of shape over this.. All previous versions work.. I had 1.6 for 15 months before upgrade to 2.2.. phone always did what I needed.. yes I wanted 2.2, but it was hardly a "hardship" or cause of stress and anger that some people seem to

The big thing with apple was that *Apple* decides when and how to devalue or enhance phones, whereas for every other manufacturer it's the carrier (and while yes, they only had one carrier in the US for a long time, they had a lot of carriers around the world who got the update at the same time as the US).

The Nexus One and Nexus S are googles attempt to get in on this actually keeping the phone updated idea.

Of course as with all consumer electronics, it is a double edged sword. The carriers don't want to d

The article is considers Apple releasing this update on time and Microsoft releasing theirs late and in a piecemeal fashion as an indication of what the companies are like, but the author forgets two things. First, the iOS 4.2 was delayed (actually cancelled and later released as 4.2.1) when a WiFi bug was found. Granted it wasn't as long a Microsoft's delay, but still...

Second, the iPad was stuck at iOS 3.x for a long time after 4.x was available for the iPhone and iPod. It skipped 4.0 and 4.1 until it finally hit OS parity at 4.2.1. This was despite Apple controlling both the hardware and software as the article suggests.

As to Microsoft's offering, I have never considered WP7 to be a released product until they fixed the basic things like copy/paste. The old adage of always waiting for a ".1" release of a Microsoft product was true again. It was disappointing after they got it so right with Windows 7.

It was a product, and Microsoft released it. How is that not a released product?

I didn't say that it wasn't a product. I said that I do not consider it to be a released product. I was making a jibe at it being unfinished due to its lack of some basic functionality rather than a statement of fact about the product.

They didn't get Windows 7 right; Windows 7 was really just Vista.1, so the old adage was still true.

Every single release of Windows gets called a service pack or minor update of the previous version by some people around here. If it were true, then Windows 7 would be mostly the same as Windows NT 3.0 (and be called Windows 3.7). But if you compare the two you versions will f

Microsoft issues an update: it's supposed to update the updating system for future updates. It bricks phones.Apple issues an update: Adds a few minor features, fixes bugs, improves web browser performance. It Just Works.

I find the trolling with "mandatory silencing of complaints" ironic since one of the features in iOS 4.3 - a user preference for the switch on the iPad to function as orientation lock or mute - is specifically in response to user feedback.

Meanwhile, Google issues an update. You can't use it until your carrier/handset manufacturer says you can (it took a month for Gingerbread to show up even on Google's own Nexus).

If you choose to wait for your carrier to roll out a bloated OTA Android update, you are free to do so. If you choose not to wait, you are free to use one of the many alternative distributions or even roll your own without fear of repercussion.

So instead of admitting there are shortcomings with the Google model, you bring up the fact that a tech savvy user could root their phone and use alternative distributions which are maintained by volunteers and NOT Google. You seem to have missed the GP's point.

Which phones out there get vendor supplied updates after 3 years? Certainly not any that I've ever owned.

Nor I, I'll admit.

That said, here's the problem--especially as it relates to the iPhone: This update includes various bug fixes for the Safari browser which improve security. Yet I can't get those if I have an iPhone 3G. And it's not like I can say, "Well, I'll just use another browser" because Apple won't allow Chrome or Firefox browser in their store. So my choice is...buy another iPhone.

Don't get me wrong--I have no problem with Apple saying "Hey, you don't get any of the cool new features of iOS 4.3

Apple lost me when it wanted me to fork over another 20$ to get a mpg to mov converter for the iMac. I paid premium price for it, and I do not want to be nickel and dimed. Yeah, I know enough to download and install ffmpg, and handbrake etc. But still it feels like buying a Lexus and then the sales man wants 20$ more for some floor mats.

mpeg is is a format, while mov is a container format. mpeg can go *inside* a mov container, but converting one to the other is like saying "I need a converter to change my coffee beans into a coffee jar".

If you mean the mpeg2 encoder, which Apple doesn't include by default with Quicktime (only the decoder) then that's the licensing fee problem. Apple are just passing the cost on. I guess they could eat the cost (like they do for the H.264 fee), but you'd have to take that up with

I think he may mean QuickTime Pro which has extended functionality over QuickTime. However he could get the same functionality in a free package and he somehow felt cheated. That's a rather puzzling reaction.

Apple lost me when it wanted me to fork over another 20$ to get a mpg to mov converter for the iMac. I paid premium price for it, and I do not want to be nickel and dimed. Yeah, I know enough to download and install ffmpg, and handbrake etc. But still it feels like buying a Lexus and then the sales man wants 20$ more for some floor mats.

Apple is a business and no one said you had to buy all your software from Apple; the fact you can get the same functionality for free from another package kinda defeats your entire complaint. Also there is a difference between standard functionality and enhanced functionality. Play mpeg or movs should be standard. Converting from one format to another may not be. Most business define the difference even if you don't like that there is a line between the two. After all, do you get Office free from MS

Does it matter? Do we judge fairness by the lowest common denominator? The fact is that Apple was still happily signing people up for two year contacts with AT&T on brand freaking new iPhone 3Gs until last June. Now, it's ok that people who are contractually obligated to pay for service for the next 14+ months be left vulnerable to attack? This, just because Apple first started selling the device in '08 and other manufacturers have track records of treating their customers like crap? It may be a three year old phone to the guys currently playing with iPhone 5 or 6 prototypes under black curtains, but to some, it's well under a year old. Maybe these people shouldn't expect multitasking, (no way on that hardware) wallpapers, or the other various cool new iOS 4 features, but they sure as hell ought to be able to surf the web without their devices being compromised.

Once your car is out-of-warranty, is the manufacturer obliged to keep parts in stock to restore it to showroom condition?What about Building Materials for your house, or Matching Furniture (if you break a chair for your dining room table) once the product has been taken off the market?

The Brand new iPhone 3G purchased 11 months ago was like a car that had been sitting on the lot for 3 years. It was in a runout sale.Apple have certainly learnt their PR lesson here, the iPad 1 is available for $100 less than

They were selling the iPhone 3G as new hardware until June of last year. I don't think it unreasonable to think a smartphone vendor should release at least security updates for the duration of a standard service contract.

And I have my iPhone 3G as well. And I feel betrayed. Not only is my 2 years up with AT&T with no way to legally (Apple legal, not legislation) unlock it, I now can expect no more updates for my phone, and many many more apps to respond "this app requires Version #.#, you must upgrade your phone to run this" (I currently get that on the wife's old 2G that can't be updated to the minimum to run it, not a mention of the phone being unable to run it, but telling me to upgrade to something I can't run).

If you post on slashdot you should be able to handle that. Not sure about that phone, but most have a simple root app then you just install rom manager and away you go. It handles everything from inside the app.

Basically yes, although my Nexus One was really convenient to root, basically just reboot with a special handshake and confirm that I was OK with Google no longer being responsible for software problems.

This reminds me, I should update my phone, I haven't updated since I switched over to cyanogenmod.

In the end all you really need for Android is the ADB binary and an app which roots the phone for you. After updating the recovery partition then it's as simple as pressing two buttons to upload the update zip.

Wow! You DO realize, don't you, that even a pretty damn tech-savvy Android user (not talking about a developer; just a decidedly non-n00b user) would process most of those instructions as "noise", right?

um, no, non-n00b != pretty damn tech-savvy.

If you're "pretty damn tech-savvy" then rooting an android phone should be a cinch. If you're not, then you wouldn't know what it is and wouldn't be interested.

So zero Android phones trump 6.1 million iPhones? I believe the only Android phone that is 28 months old is the T-Mobile G1, and that doesn't seem to be supported: http://www.cyanogenmod.com/devices [cyanogenmod.com]. I don't think having to rely on a roll your own version counts any more than jailbroken iPhones. Obviously the claim should be true in a year or so, but Apple may have provided an update to Safari by then.

12 months is the standard warranty. 24 months is the standard contract. On the plan I signed up for (in AUS), it was cheaper to buy a phone on contract than buy one outright and go SIM-only. Of course the phone I bought was obsolete within 6 months!

At the end of 2 years, they generally throw in a free phone to roll your contract over. I dare say it's normally a low end phone they'd soon EOL.

I have about a year to run so I just hope an HTC phone with at least an 800Ghz CPU is low end by then - at least I'll

I dunno, but the Nexus One has received two major Android updates since its release just over a year ago. That's as many as any iPhone has ever received. And, they've both been at least as significant as any iOS update.

So what happens if you bought a 3G last May (before they were discontinued) and your phone gets hacked? What will they do if you take it to the Apple store? It's still under warranty until at least this May. It's one thing not to support new features on older phones but leaving a phone still under warranty vulnerable is inexcusable!

Here in Australia, when you get a phone,t he contract is 2 years. I still have 3 months left on said contract - the phone? the 3g. The IOS 4 update slowed it down alot, now banning on features for the 3g, that is bad business practice. Just a note for the fanboi's before they start up - the 3gs wasn't released (or announced) when the phone was purchased.

It doesn't really resemble the iPhone much at all, other than that it's a phone. And apparently the clipboard is coming this month too, so then both the iPhone and the Windows Phone 7 will have copy/paste, so I guess that will be a similarity too.

The UI model is literally completely different from that of the iPhone. Whereas the iPhone is function-centric (you have to run an app to see data relating to that app), Windows Phone 7 is data-centric (apps pool data under categories which the user can access. For instance, Contacts would have twitter, facebook, and standard contact info along with info plugged into it by other applications.

It's a completely different approach to user interfaces, so calling Windows Phone 7 a copy of the iPhone is quite literally false in every possible sense.

Actually, I don't mean like the Newton interface. The Newton UI is just like the iPhone UI: it's a presentation layer for applications which accomplish different tasks, nothing more.

Metro UI in Windows Phone 7 is data-centric because of the fact that data is prioritized, meaning that applications supply data to central access points where the user can see what he/she wants to see.

Actually, What you describe is so very much like the Newton UI, if you hadn't said you were talking about Windows Phone, many people would have guessed Newton instead.

From Wikipedia:

"Data in Newton is stored in object-oriented databases known as soups. One of the innovative aspects of Newton is that soups are available to all programs; and programs can operate cross-soup; meaning that the calendar can refer to names in the address book; a note in the notepad can be converted to an appointment, and so forth; and the soups can be programmer-extendedâ"a new address book enhancement can be built on the data from the existing address book.

Another consequence of the data-object soup is that objects can extend built-in applications such as the address book so seamlessly that Newton users can sometimes not distinguish which program or add-on object is responsible for the various features on their own system, because the advanced nature of Newton devices makes it easy to accept such add-ons."

I like the ideas behind Windows Phone 7 quite a lot, but I wouldn't say it's totally different - the pool of data aspect you speak of is a kind of re-thinking of the classic home area, but WP7 still has traditional apps as well.

The main area to my mind where WP7 goes off and strikes a flag in new ground is the whole partial screen thing, which is I think a cool design choice with a lot of good possibilities.

True, WP7 does get an unfair rap due to MS's previous attempts at the mobile OS, and it's arguably far better than its predecessors. And it was wise of them to take the Android approach, as we've seen what happens when they market a complete package (see: Zune, Kin, etc).

That said, they're fighting an uphill battle and only time will tell if they can really get back in the fray. They really need compelling "look what we've got" stuff to win any mindshare, and I don't think the XBL integration is going to

Well I'm not the GP but I'd say it is a classic example of the two companies. On the one hand you have Apple where if you are not pretty close to current you are SOL, as Apple dumps tech pretty fast and if you ain't onboard their hardware upgrade schedule you just aren't doing things "The Apple Way",

Whereas with MSFT they release a bog standard update that'll work on all the WinPhone hardware but the OEMs are fucking things up with their incomplete or incompatible crap, kinda like how for years the OEM woul

Well I'm not the GP but I'd say it is a classic example of the two companies. On the one hand you have Apple where if you are not pretty close to current you are SOL, as Apple dumps tech pretty fast and if you ain't onboard their hardware upgrade schedule you just aren't doing things "The Apple Way",

The Apple iOS 4.3 update doesn't work on iPhones pre June 2009. (iPhone 3G and earlier out of luck).

The Microsoft Windows Phone "February update" update doesn't work with Windows Phones pre October 2010. (Windows Phone 6.5 and earlier out of luck)

From this evidence it's hard to conclude that Apple are dumping faster than Microsoft.

(Then of course there's the Kin users who found their Microsoft device abandoned within weeks of release.)

well let's see it from my point of perspective. i bought a WP7 phone, fully knowing the lack of certain key features, and erred on the promise that said features will be added in a prompt and timely manner. i also counted on the promise that carriers will not be able to mess with the OS thru version fragmentation, bloatware and update blocks.

so far the only solid return i got was the bloatware exclusion (they uninstall without leaving discernible traces). everything else is, for all practical purposes,

I have a WinMo 6.5 phone that I think is fantastic, but I would not consider WP 7 because it will not do as much as my current phone, and it is unlikely to improve precisely because it is completely different. Microsoft abandoned all of its developers so they are late to the party with an OS with no track record and new developer tools and a multitude of incompatible devices. Nokia may be the best phone manufacturer,but they are well down the scale when it comes to smart phones. WP 7 phones will have as much influence on the smart phone market as the Zune has had on the MP3 player market.

I love my Tilt 2 (AT&T branded Touch Pro 2, with WM 6.5), and I enjoy two things most about it:

1) Over a decade of legacy applications that I can find and run for it.2) It's an "open" (using the term VERY loosely) platform that anyone can develop and publish for. There's no centralized app store.

The things I don't like about it are that WP7 essentially sounds the alarm to developers to stop developing for Windows Mobile 6.5 and below, and the fact that it's a bit slow compared to

Slashdotters have usually put Windows Phone 7 down because of the old clumsy feel of older Windows Mobile phones and the OS, but you have to remember WP7 is completely different beast and it's completely redesigned.

Yeah, well, Microsoft had years to make Windows Mobile not be a complete piece of shit, and they just couldn't be bothered to try until the iPhone showed up and Apple started eating their lunch in the mobile space and publicly embarrassing them. I've been using company-issued WM phones since 2006, and the experience has been uniformly terrible-- to the degree that I no longer trust my company phone when I'm on call, and have the calls sent to my personal phone (which, yes, is an iPhone).

As soon as Nokia's Windows Phone 7 devices are released, I will probably get one. Both iPhone and Android have many issues caused mostly because they're fundamentally so far from each, like left and right. Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 is in the middle ground and takes the best from both worlds.

As someone who has used nokias for a long time, I can tell you that you'll likely be very disappointed. Essentially all the best design people are leaving, or already have left nokia at this stage (exodus started some time before the announcement in february). You'll likely get a massive turd, with both hardware issues caused by the OS as well as software issues caused by the fact that hardware guys have to learn how to make a phone for a completely different OS in record time and release it even faster.

I played with one for about 1.5 minutes before my friends drug me away. Can't say I'm impressed with it, but then again, I barely had time to play with it at all.Totally unlike istuff and android was about the only impression I got in that short time.

Not that I think WP7 doesn't deserve some praise... but/. really needs a filter to prevent ACs and UIDs > 1,600,000 from getting 1st-2nd-3rd post on articles.

Though I agree that the shill posts were annoying, wasn't that the whole point of the moderation system? That way the problem can be taken care of without Slashdot having to develop Mcafee anti-virus like rules to keep trolls out?

It would drive the carriers insane, but Apple could open up iOS a bit more without causing compatibility problems between apps and OS versions.

Anytime someone complains about Apple not being open enough, I'm compelled to state that just like with most large corporations, Apple exists to make money through some corporate vision, and that sometimes their business decisions override engineering decisions.

Overall, Apple still makes kit that is worth the purchase and inconvenience to a great number of folks, so Apple continues to make lots of money the hard way. Unlike Microsoft and other monopolists / rent-seekers, Apple (for the most part) isn't man

While I agree to some extent, the choice shouldn't have to be between incompetence and a walled garden.

It would drive the carriers insane, but Apple could open up iOS a bit more without causing compatibility problems between apps and OS versions.

You are not missing much dude. I have tried jailbraking on both my iPhone and iPad. You gain very little in exchange for the pain of having to wait for an updated jailbreak, faster battery drain and instability. With the constant updates that Apple have made, there is very little reason now to jailbreak especially in countries like Canada which now offer legal unlocking of iPhones.

While I agree to some extent, the choice shouldn't have to be between incompetence and a walled garden.

There's a lot of things that "shouldn't have to be"; but are.

It would drive the carriers insane, but Apple could open up iOS a bit more without causing compatibility problems between apps and OS versions.

In your (not-so) humble opinion, of course. And your credentials to be making that bold and sweeping statement?

Since the Curated Collection seems to be working just-a fine for all but a fairly small minority of the smartphone-buying (and using) public, and the number of iOS exploits in the wild even without the security patches has been in the (low) single-digits, I think Apple has really got a handle on this "post-PC" paradigm (and no, that DOE

I would bet that the versions have diverged to the point that it is getting impractical to support the older architecture, without patching larger and larger swaths of OS code.

My only complaint is that they did not wait until the next generation iPhone was released. The iPhone 5, or whatever it will be named, should be released in a few months. It seems pointless to think about getting an iPhone 4 this late in the release cycle.

I don't mind the take and or not stance, it's the "don't you dare say anything bad about it" stance that bugs me. Surely they're secure enough to take a little criticism, no? I thought the idea that being surrounded by "yes-men" was some sort of apogee of social(/corporate) status was well-ridiculed at this point---you need some criticism, or you eventually just end up stagnant, staring with glee at your own navel as the world changes around you...

I might appreciate the walled garden a little more... if I didn't have an iPhone 3G on my desk. It is only JUST out of its two-year service agreement with AT&T. I'm sure there are other people who bought new 3G phones who are still under contract but out of support.

What phone am I going to get next? Well, I crossed iPhone 4 off the list already, so I'll probably get an Android device and reconsider Apple when the iPhone 5 or 6 comes out.

Tyranny is not a good solution to mistakes, such as the "bumbling incompetence" that you ascribe to Microsoft.

Microsoft and some of the Google OEM's have made mistakes, but that is not because they aren't practicing tyranny.

For example, this week we heard that Google had made a mistake and not caught a virus in some apps in its Marketplace. Apple supporters jumped on this and declared that this was the result of Google's more open app store, which makes no sense. Open app stores can and should block viru

They didn't discontinue the iPhone 3G until June 7, 2010. Inventories don't often magically evaporate either so who knows when the iPhone 3G was no longer for sale by Apple's partners. They should do the right thing and do a point release of whatever iOS will run on the 3G containing just the security fixes.

If they purchased it from an unscrupulous Carrier outlet (and which Carrier outlets are scrupulous), they may have not known that they were buying a soon-to-be obsolete phone.If they had have purchased it from an Apple Store, or spent 30 seconds on Wikipedia however, they would have definitely known. Apple Store upsells to encourage customer satisfaction with the product, Carrier outlets downsell to clear obsolete inventory. Wikipedia Empowers consumers with knowledge, which is why it's not allowed in Carri

Imagine you'd bought a Mac a couple of years ago. Suddenly Apple decide that your machine is obsolete and you're left with no support, no updates and gaping holes in your security. How would you feel about that? A desktop box with a planned obsolesence of 2 years.

Just because an iphone can make calls doesn't mean that's all it's good for. Ever since phones got internet connectivity they have come a lot closer to being PCs and need to be thought of in the same way. The same need for security fixes, updates

What? A device manufacturer isn't releasing a software update for a device that's 2,5 years old (3G launch date: 11.08.2008)? Someone call the press! Seriously, with other manufacturers you are lucky if you get updates for a single year. Bitching that your 2,5 year old phone isn't getting an update is completely ridiculous.

its not about when the original launch date was, its about when the last sale date was.

the point is that there are iPhone 3G users who are still in their 2 year contract period.

The issue is much worse with Android phones, but we've been moaning about that for ages now already. Apple has been praised for its backwards compatibility until now, so its deserving of the criticism on this point I think.

If the iPhone 3G had been discontinued over 2 years ago from retail stores then I'd agree with you.